Back to School Haul

Hello darlings! I did some major back to school shopping with my family. After moving my brother and his girlfriend into their new house, we stopped at the Lee outlet in Massachusetts. The next three days we hiked up to Maine and visited Kittery and Freeport (wait to see the pictures on Sunday to see the delicious food we ate).

Bath and Body Works is having a fantastic sale right now! Their candles are usually $22.50 for just one candle but right now the candles are buy two for $24! If you’re a candle lover like me then you’re probably an abnormal amount of excited. Maybe you even stopped reading this post to go buy some awesomeness.

I ended up purchasing Buttercream Icing, Marshmallow Fireside, Leaves, and Nantucket Sail. They all smell delicious! I think my favorite one would have to be between Marshmallow fireside and Leaves. Leaves is the perfect smell for fall and when the leaves start changing. However, Marshmallow Fireside is perfect for 365 days of the year.

Aeropostale always has fantastic sales, and I’m not just saying that because I worked there last summer! If you don’t believe me take what I got at the Lee outlet to mind.

I purchased a top that literally has all my favorite fashion elements except lace. The back is open interesting and scrappy, the feminine silhouette, the front has these cute little bohemian tassels at the top, and it has an interesting geometric pattern. What isn’t to love? Okay, so it gets better… the top is ‘originally’ $42.50 and I got it for $9.99.

 Sticking to the black and white geometric pattern I purchased this really cool shift/flare dress. Like the shirt, the dress has a funky scrappy back that I love. So the dress was ‘originally’ $52.50 and I got it for $9.99.

Next was Under Armour. I didn’t really need new sports bras but my mom kind of insisted. They had a fantastic sale. Depending on which bra you’re talking about they range from $24.99 to $29.99. So they were on a clearance rack that was already marked down and then you get an additional 20% off the lowest ticketed price. The bra with the black band was originally $24.99 marked down to $14.97 and then marked down to $11.97. The other two bras were originally $29.99 marked down to $17.97 and then marked down again to $14.97.

If you have never worn Under Armour sports bras I really recommend them. They’re incredibly soft and flexible. I have a few Nike sports bras and don’t like them as much because they have so much material to them. With the Under Armour bras it feels like you’re not wearing a bra but gives you a ton of support at the same time.

I did pretty well in Lee, but I did even better in Kittery!
I’m really into dresses lately if you have not figured that out already. Charlotte Russe was having a great sale on dresses. Two of these dresses were on sale for $20 and then one was on sale for $15. I looked on RetailMeNot and found this coupon that takes $10 off 50 or more. It is valid until September 1st.

This was the dress that was on sale for $15. It’s such a cute pattern and I love the quirky straps.

American Eagle was the only store I purchased something full price ($39.99). I felt a little guilty doing it, but I’ve been eyeing this dress since it came out online. The color looks really beige in the picture but it’s actually a more pinky color. A better comparison of the color would be a lighter version of the pink Charlotte Russe dress I bought. If you want this dress I recommend buying it online. Out of the 3 American Eagles I went to this was the only one that had a medium! It also comes in a light grey.

I’m not really one who shops at Ann Taylor, but I decided to go in the store. I ended up buying a tan and a white pair of shorts for $14.99 each and a pair of tights for $10. (White pair isn’t pictured below because I was wearing them when I took the picture).

Freeport I went a little crazy. My first destination was Banana Republic. I ended up buying one graphic tee ($20), two white tees and one red tee ($7.19 each), one black long sleeve tee ($8.99), and one black cardigan ($34.99). I really love the graphic tee because it can be worn over dresses to make different outfits. If you’re a student make sure you show your student ID because they offer a 15% discount.

I really like this cardigan for Italy because it’s very thick. If you happen to want to buy it just know it runs big! I ended up getting an XS and I usually get a medium.

 

Loft has a great selection on clearance stuff so I went there next. I ended up getting these two shirts for $14.99 each. They’re very practical and great for teaching down the road.

Next stop was Ambercrombie and Fitch. The outlet in Maine usually has really cute going out tops, however, this year they did not. I ended up only getting this dress ($15.99).

Next was Gap where I got two skirts. I actually got my first midi skirt (40% off $44.99: $26.99). that I’ll be able to wear teaching down the line. It’s kind of funny because two years ago you wouldn’t see me dead in one. I also got this really cute floral skirt that was 70% off $39.99 ($12.00).

If you read my blog religiously, which obviously you do, then you’d know I’m a pretty big J. Crew fan. I love their funky patterns and loud jewelry. I ended up getting this fantastic splatter paint shirt ($14.44), two pairs of tights ($8.63), and this necklace ($18.61).

The last store was The Walking Company. Since I’ll be walking a lot in Italy, I wanted to get some shoes that I could walk a lot in and not complain about my feet hurting. Based on a million blogs, the locals don’t wear sneakers out and about. So I decided to get these Danish shoes from The Walking Company. They’re not the normal shoes I would wear. Like the midi skirt, I wouldn’t be caught dead in these two years ago. But as people grow, tastes change. It was my first experience in The Walking Company and it was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in a store. The sales assistant makes you walk past this mat in your left foot, your right foot, and then with both of your feet together. I found out I have an extremely high arch… Literally none of it touches the mat. I also hold most of my body up on my heels and big toe. It even told me that I use my right foot more (kind of weird because I’m left handed). Even if you don’t like the shoes I ended up getting I recommend going into The Walking Company and try out their machine and shoes. I’ve never had a comfier pair of shoes and good of service.

How is your back to school shopping going? I would love to see any of your hauls so please post your link to this post! Don’t forget to check back Sunday to see all the delicious food I ate in Maine and even some of the items I almost bought! I might be slightly regretting not buying one item…

As always,